The term "black widow" really irritates me. These are the women the media tells us will blow themselves up at Sochi, in hopes of killing others. Scary stuff, huh? What kind of culture produces something as awful as black widows? Brrrrrr.
But step back for a moment and consider something. There are many popular American "hero" movies where the guy's family is killed and he spends the whole movie blowing up everyone he thinks is responsible -- for revenge -- while American audiences cheer his every move. But the hero is nothing more than a black widower.
The M.O. for journalists seems to be that fighting to avenge the loss of your family is totally scary when the avenger is...a woman. After all, how could a mere woman, a creature who possesses pope-approved intuition and myriad other "womanly virtues", do such a thing? Duh. She could do it as easily as a man. And no one ever notices the similarity between these "black widows" and the American "heroes" in our movies, though they act on the same principles.
I'm not buying the black-widow media fantasy. I'm just not. Violence begets violence. And stopping the violence would mean the end of black widows. But no one tries to stop the violence anymore. It's just a fact of life, to be accepted, to be borne, to be avenged.
But step back for a moment and consider something. There are many popular American "hero" movies where the guy's family is killed and he spends the whole movie blowing up everyone he thinks is responsible -- for revenge -- while American audiences cheer his every move. But the hero is nothing more than a black widower.
The M.O. for journalists seems to be that fighting to avenge the loss of your family is totally scary when the avenger is...a woman. After all, how could a mere woman, a creature who possesses pope-approved intuition and myriad other "womanly virtues", do such a thing? Duh. She could do it as easily as a man. And no one ever notices the similarity between these "black widows" and the American "heroes" in our movies, though they act on the same principles.
I'm not buying the black-widow media fantasy. I'm just not. Violence begets violence. And stopping the violence would mean the end of black widows. But no one tries to stop the violence anymore. It's just a fact of life, to be accepted, to be borne, to be avenged.
3 comments:
Violence and vengeance is a bit like those perpetual motion toy balls that you give a smack to and they just keep on clicking.
Doesn't provide any solution but seems to amuse those who started the motion.
I was down in the basement last night and I swear I heard Helen Reddy's "I am woman" being hummed in one of the darkened corners. Do you suppose?...no that would be way too strange.
Not to worry. It was probably just Marcus Bachmann, Michelle's husband. I hear he likes to do that.
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